DEPARTMENT OF
LABOR

WASHINGTON, D.C.

1956-1963

After teaching for ten years, Howard Jenkins, Jr., decided
to move on. At that time he was active in the Bar Association, Labor Law
Section, and gave a talk at a meeting in Washington where he was critical
of the Labor Department's delivery of legal services. Stuart Rothman happened
to be in attendance at that meeting and later contacted Jenkins. He persuaded
Jenkins to take a leave of absence from teaching and become a special assistant
to him in the Solicitor's Office of the U.S. Department of Labor.

1959 - Landrum - Griffin Act

1959 Letter from James R. Hoffa, General President, InternationalBrotherhood of Teamsters to James P.

1960 - Election Victory of the Ladies' Garment Workers

At the time,
Congress was attempting to develop
stronger controls over the internal affairs of trade unions. These efforts
culminated with the enactment of the Landrum-Griffin Act in 1959. Because
Jenkins was substantially involved in the drafting of the Landrum-Griffin
Act, he was chosen as Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Regulation at
Bureau of Labor Management Reports (BLMR). The BLMR is a part of the Department
of Labor that ensures compliance with the Landrum-Griffin Act. In 1962,
Jenkins became Assistant Commissioner of the BLMR and the highest ranking
African American attorney in the federal government.

Working closely with a succession of Secretaries of Labor - James P.
Mitchell, Arthur Goldberg, and Willard Wirtz - Jenkins was well qualified to be a nominee for the National Labor Relations
Board (NLRB). Willard Wirtz and Arthur Goldberg were Howard's primary
sponsors when John Fitzgerald Kennedy became president. With enthusiastic
support from the Colorado delegation - Representative Byron Rogers and Senators Gordon Allott and Peter Dominick - Jenkins was sworn in
to the NLRB on August
29, 1963.